GLENDORA – After more than two-and-a-half years and a nearly three-hour public hearing, the Glendora City Council on Tuesday night decided to continue research and discussions on a proposed 23-unit development at Bonnie Cove Avenue and Gladstone Street.

The council approved the delay on a 4-1 vote, with Mayor Joe Santoro dissenting.

The proposal by The Olson Company would bring 23 condominium units to a vacant Z-shaped lot south of the 210 Freeway, which requires a zoning change from medical services to R-2, a restricted multiple-family residential zoning designation. The R-2 zoning designation allows up to 15 units per acre, though the Olson Company’s proposal would restrict the parcel to 9.3 units per acre.

“We (Planning Department) don’t think that simply because there is this project before us which would rezone the corner R-2, at a higher density than the other residential (zones) in the neighborhood, that we should grant that simply because it’s better than the medical facility,” Planning Director Jeff Kugel said. “I think it’s a mistake if we think or if the neighborhood thinks that this would end the debate on future development in that neighborhood.”

Dozens of the development’s future neighbors packed the council chambers and held up bright green fliers in support of the project, which was opposed by city staff but approved by the Planning Commission.

The council questioned the legality of changing the zoning designation from medical to residential, fearing that this would create a ripple effect of property owners who would choose to sell their land to developers and request zoning changes to build high-density housing.

City Attorney D. Wayne Leech countered that, since the application is specific to the proposed parcel of land that would be developed, it would not open the city to legal action from future developers requesting the zoning shift.

Current property owner Greg Anderson said he opposes changing the zoning from medical services to a designation that would devalue the property and that the Olson Company’s proposal is an excellent compromise.

Councilmen Doug Tessitor and Gene Murabito moved to defer the decision and continue studying the project, which was opposed by Santoro.

Murabito asked staff to work with the developers on several issues, including eliminating a unit that does not meet R-2 zoning requirements; presenting a plan for the future development of the medical facility; providing information on a Housing and Urban Development loan on the medical facility building; and analyzing the effects of designating the property as an R-1 zone.

City Manager Chris Jeffers said that an analysis of zoning the property R-1 could take 60 to 90 days, which could push a final decision to Sept. 24.

“I’d rather take 90 days to be sure of what we’re doing, than not and make a rushed decision that we may not ultimately like,” Tessitor said.